1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mailboxes for use adjacent roadways. More particularly, the present invention relates to the bracket used to secure a conventional mailbox to the post on which it is mounted.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
For decades, the mailbox has been a familiar sight along the roadways of America, particularly along rural roads and highways. Because these mailboxes are typically arranged only a few feet from the edge of the roadway, highway authorities often prescribe regulations dealing with the construction of such mailboxes. The design of the mailbox itself is prescribed by the postal authorities, i.e. the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Due to their location adjacent roadways, mailboxes and other roadside features often are struck in roadway accidents, making their construction to be “crash worthy” an issue of some importance. The National Cooperative Highway Research Program has promulgated standards for the safety evaluation of highway features such as signs and sign supports in Report 350. The standards set forth in Report 350 relate to the behavior of highway features when struck by a vehicle. The desired behavior is that the sign or other feature fail in such a way that property damage and personal injury are minimized to the extent possible. Thus, the terms “crashworthiness” and “crash worthy,” as used herein, actually mean susceptibility to failure in the event of a crash or collision, rather than resistance to failure. The standards and testing methodologies contained in Report 350 have been adopted by most states. Therefore, the majority of roadside signs and features are made in consideration of, if not in compliance with, the standards of Report 350.
Consistent with this concern over the construction of roadside features, it is typical for a mail customer who intends to place a mailbox by the roadside to apply to the local office of the highway regulation authority for permission to place the box. In some states, the authorities themselves provide the post and install a USPS-approved mailbox on an approved, crash worthy post in what the authorities deem a safe location and in a safe fashion.
The conventional mailbox and post assembly, including the bracket, when struck by a vehicle, sometimes exhibits a mode of failure in which the mailbox detaches from the post and can come through the windshield of the vehicle, thereby posing a grave risk to the occupants of the vehicle in what otherwise might be a relatively minor accident.
A need exists for both posts and brackets for securing the mailbox to the post that are easily and inexpensively manufactured and fail in a relatively safe or crash worthy mode in the event of an accident.